The present invention relates to a connector in which a plug is connected to a socket axially.
In such a conventional connector, if a direction for rotating a plug or a socket is changed when the plug is connected to the socket, electric connection is likely varied or a connecting pin is likely broken. In order to keep the rotating direction stationary any time, a positioning projection is provided on one of the plug and the socket, and a positioning groove for the projection is formed on the other in JP5-62734A, JP2008-130556A and JP2-49386A.
With a tilted cam, a plug is connected to a socket axially, and the plug or the socket rotates around an axis, thereby positioning them automatically in U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,325A and JP2010-118224A.
However, in the connector comprising conventional positioning means in JP5-62734A, JP2008-130556A and JP2-49386A, in order that the positioning projection may be put into the positioning groove, it was difficult to align the plug with the socket.
If the plug or the socket is mounted on the back of an electronic device, it is invisible and one has to grope for its position, thereby making it more difficult to connect them.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,239,325A and JP2010-118224A, the tilted cam is provided on the end face of the plug and socket. When the plug is connected to the socket, the end of the tilted cam comes in contact with part of the circumference of the other tilted cam and slides on the tilted surface. If the plug is not aligned with the socket when the plug is connected to the socket, rotation around the axis gets unsmooth owing to bias-contact and sticking phenomenon, and stops before coming to the normal position. It is necessary to try several times, which causes wear in the sliding-contact portion more severely.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages in the prior art, it is an object of the invention to provide a connector having simple structure, in which a plug is connected to a socket in any rotational direction around an axis so that they are guided smoothly to a normal position for the connection.